Sometimes
by Skylarkchild
Summary: Sometimes Alphonse hated Winry.
1. Chapter 1

Sometimes Alphonse hated Winry. He hated her with a twisted, burning loathing that nobody suspected he was capable of.

Not even Ed.

And those times happened way too often. Usually at least once every time they met her. If they stayed with her for several days, though, they occurred way more than just once.

But they only lasted for a few minutes, and after those moments had passed, he would forget that they ever happened- or so he told himself. The truth was that every time those little moments came around, complete with bursting, bubbling hatred sweeping through him, he would recall every single past event as well with frighteningly clarity, down to the last, most minuscule detail.

"Idiot!" she would shout, and then a hard, heavy wrench would fly through the air and hit his beloved brother right on the head. Ed would fall down, screaming and yelling angrily even before he hit the floor. And Al would rush towards his side, only a horrified "Brother!" escaping his consciousness into audibility (for he didn't have lips that words could escape from), even though he really shouldn't have been surprised. He would help his big brother get up as carefully as he could with his too big hands, and would be grateful that his expressions could not be seen on his helmet; for it was about this time that he would notice the trail of blood dripping down from his brother's forehead.

Why did she always hurt him more? More, because when they visited her, it was usually due to Ed having ruined his automail in fights that left him with injuries, and severe ones at that. Winry would then scream at Ed, asking him why she always ruined her precious, precious automail, and why did he always get into fights, and why didn't he take care of himself?

Was she stupid? They (only Ed really) were in the _military! _People in the military tended to do dangerous things! And the way she would speak! As if a piece of machinery was more important than a person! More important than _his brother!_

His big brother, who had given up two limbs for his little brother. Edward, who had given up his future to devote all his time and energy for Al.

And what was worse, Winry would cry! Cry after she had calmed down enough to see that Ed was seriously hurt, cry because they didn't tell her what was going on.

Of course they didn't tell her! It was none of her business, just theirs. It was better this way at any rate; she would probably only cry harder if she knew the extent of what happened during their travels.

Edward _hated_ when Winry cried. It tore at his brother's soul to cause others pain, and to Ed, those crystal droplets rolling down Winry's face were a sign of failure. Once again he failed at making sure his loved ones were safe.

Al could see Ed's thoughts even before they actually passed through his head: '_Great, another person whose life I'm screwing up.'_

And Alphonse hated anyone that was capable of making his absolutely wonderful brother feel that way.

But what he hated most about Winry in those moments was that Edward didn't. Ed didn't hate Winry, because he really had no reason to.

…Because Edward _cared_ about Winry.

Because even though Ed didn't know it himself, he _loved_ Winry.

…And because Winry loved him just as much.

Because a (not so) tiny part of Alphonse was jealous.

Annoyed that his brother might care for someone just as much as he cared for Al.

And Al hated it. Hated that he was jealous. Hated that he could be so angry at something that made Ed happy.

Those treacherous, selfish moments would leave him feeling terribly guilty for a long time afterward. He would go off by himself while Winry looked at Ed's automail, berating himself for being so selfish while at the same time wishing he would stop pretending that he was perfectly happy and do something to intervene.

And even as he tried to look past his jealousy, Alphonse knew that he would never quite be able to succeed. Instead, he would keep his feelings buried deep down where no one could find them and continue lying every time he met with Winry.

The thought he was actually capable of living such a lie disgusted him.

And then sometimes, Alphonse Elric hated himself.

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**A/N: The idea of a jealous, somewhat possessive Alphonse completely fascinates me. I think I might end up writing more of it.**

**Just so you know, this really isn't supposed to be elricest.**

**Hope you enjoyed it!  
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	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Al's a lot more possessive in this one. Not really satisfied with this chapter, but here goes.  
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What Alphonse was most afraid of was that Ed would find out. Find out about his ugly jealousy; find out that Alphonse was not the sweet innocent child Edward thought him to be.

And it was getting much more difficult to hide. His sudden flashes of hatred were not just limited to Winry anymore. Now they would happen to anyone that would steal Ed's attention from him.

The sudden increase of animosity began soon after Al got his body back. After father was defeated and the world was saved, all thanks to Ed. He had limped back next to his brother to Winry's house in Risembool (he couldn't even really think of it as home anymore; home was wherever Edward was, whether it was Central, Lior, or just the desert) where they'd both received a hard, warm embrace from the ecstatic girl.

At that moment, Al had thought for a few deceitfully blessed days, that perhaps he had been cured and his hateful jealousy had disappeared. Alphonse had lived in pure bliss, despite his being so pathetically weak in his new (though it wasn't really) body. Edward had showered him with attention, always keeping a watchful eye to make sure Al was always comfortable. He was always watching his diet while trying to get him all the best tasting food he could think of and being more than just slightly overprotective about Al and his health and happiness in general.

And Al had drank it all in. He craved his brother's attention, craved the warm hugs (he had received and several hugs ever since he'd gotten his body back and loved them all, but Ed's were the absolute best), craved the genuinely happy smiles directed at him that were once so rare. Ed had given him everything he wanted, and Al had accepted it with open arms, though not without putting up a half-hearted front that it annoyed him to be babied.

Yes, life had been blissful, until he began noticing that even during the few times Winry attended to him (Ed liked to be the one who helped Alphonse, and insisted that he do it, to Al's delight), her eyes would be on Edward. Her eyes would linger on the elder brother, eyes following him until Ed caught her staring, and then she would blush lightly and look back down at what she was doing.

It was a bitter pill to swallow to see Ed doing the same thing to her. Sometimes he would do it even when helping Alphonse do something he couldn't quite do because of his weak muscles. Just for a few seconds Ed's attention would be diverted from Al and on Winry instead. And Al hated it.

But swallow it he did, but only because Edward was happy, and he could not allow himself to take that from his precious older brother. Couldn't allow Ed to find out he was jealous.

Things got worse when Alphonse could finally walk around without the aid of anyone or of a walking stick. Ed, already having gotten itchy feet from having stayed in Risembool for so long, had insisted they go visit some of the people they'd met in their journeys. Alphonse had agreed whole-heartedly, happy for any excuse to get away from Winry and her violent ways and fluttering eyes, up until the moment they had gotten off of the train and taken their first steps into Central.

The thing was that Edward had become famous. Not that he hadn't been famous before, he had been; but now he was no less than a god in the eyes of the public. Whereas few had actually witnessed his and Ed's battles and adventures during their quest for the Philosopher's stone, many soldiers and even some civilians had watched the fight between Edward and Father. They had seen with their own eyes Father being taken down by Ed, and as soon as the battle was finished, they had all gone home to tell their families, and then to pick up their pens to write letters to brag about what they had seen to their friends. So it was that the Fullmetal Alchemist's fame spread far and wide all throughout Amestris, and even beyond.

Now the problem with Edward's fame was that just about anybody on the streets could recognize Ed. Who wouldn't? Even if he no longer wore his trademark red coat, Ed's long golden hair and equally golden eyes stood out from the crowds. They would recognize Ed and then hurry over to _talk_ to him. They would come, often interrupting a conversation between the brothers just to try to get his attention. They would talk to him like they knew him, like they were _friends_, like Edward should actually _enjoy_ talking to random people he had never met until then.

And Alphonse _hated_ it because it because not only did it take Edward's attention away from him, but because it made Ed uncomfortable and irritable.

Ironically, Al's sole comfort was the fact that his brother didn't enjoy their attention.

Once out of the crowds and random fans just walking out in the streets, Al's hatred dissolved, only to build up again when they met with the people they were visiting.

Admittedly, it was actually Alphonse himself that received the most attention during these visits. They would marvel at seeing him in human flesh instead of an enormous suit of armor and say that how much he resembled Edward. That made him happy.

But he hated how they treated Edward so familiarly.

Hated Roy when he pat Ed on the back in congratulations for achieving his goal.

Hated Jean when he wrapped an arm around Ed's neck to give him a noogie.

Hated the looks Rose cast on his brother when she thought no one was looking.

_Hated_ how Fletcher treated him almost like a second brother.

He even hated the rare times Teacher gave Ed a motherly glance and ruffled his hair.

Didn't they understand that Edward didn't belong to them? None of them had ever really been there for him or had believed in him completely like Alphonse had. For some times yes, but not all the time. They had all at some point stopped believing in him.

Every. Single. One. Winry, Roy, Teacher- all of them. And the time would come when they would do so again.

But not Al. Yes, he had doubted his brother; that one terrible time when he had allowed Barry's taunting voice to hypnotize him into believing that Edward had created him and planted false memories. But he would never doubt his brother again.

So then why did all those people treat Edward as if he belonged to them? Why did Ed allow them to?

Alphonse took comfort and clung to the fact that he was Edward's brother, his only family. He was the one closest to Ed. He knew him better than anyone, cared about him more than anyone, loved him more than anyone. Edward belonged to _him_.

But Edward could never know how much Alphonse truly obsessed over that position. How much he loved it, how much he loved _Ed_, to the point of hating anything and anyone that threatened to get between them.

Alphonse would never allow his brother to discover the ugliness that was growing in his heart. He could not and he would not. It would probably just make Ed unhappy. And making his brother unhappy was Alphonse's greatest fear.

But one day, Ed did find out.

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**A/N: Yeah... The next and final chapter is going to have brotherly fluff. Anticipate the fluff.**


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